Category: college basketball 365

Post Memorial Day – Summer Doldrums 1

On By @gtmoblueIn college basketball 365

Summer is here.  Summertime…and the livin’ is Easy.  Speakin’ of easy, the Jays have 2 visitors arriving tonight, from the Big Easy, the Cresent City, Mardi Gras Central, Nawlins.    Two Top 100 2016 recruits are on an official visit to the Hilltop this weekend:  PF (6-9, 210) Brison Gresham (ESPN) and PG/SG (6-4, 180) Dejon Jarreau (Rivals).  Both are HS Recruits who attend McDonogh 35 HS in New Orleans, LA.

Photos: Courtesy Rivals.com  

For more on Gresham and Jarreau, as well as all things Creighton, visit:  
http://www.bluejayunderground.com (part of the White and Blue Review) 
http://www.bluejaybanter.com (Creighton.rivals.com)  
The Jays also have an undisclosed Juco “mystery guest” scheduled to visit either this week or next. We/I played the guessing game over on Rivals…to no avail.  The story is this young man was enrolled and played Juco in 2013-14, but was not involved with organized basketball this last season. The staff has said they will release information soon.
Also on the recruiting front:  Soph. Keyshawn Woods, PG/SG (6-3/4, 180), a non-graduate transfer from UNCC will visit the Hilltop on 21 Jun 15.  He completed his frosh season with excellent numbers and has 3 years of remaining eligibility.  Former NC Gatorade POY, excellent student, 3x All State player in NC.  
Photo: Courtesy Under Armour 

Additionally, as most of you know, Creighton landed long sought after player SG Marcus Foster earlier this Spring.  Marcus (@Swaggy2_) is a well known player nationally – one of the best in the country.  The Jays caught him on the rebound via transfer.  Marcus will sit out 2015-16, with 2 years of eligibility left beginning in the 2016-17 season.  Possibly the biggest, definitely one of the biggest transfer pickups of the season, for the Jays.  Welcome home Marcus.

The Creighton VB squad has a great incoming class.  According to volleyball site http://www.Prepvolleyball.com the Jays 2015 Class is the 11th best in the country.  See Gocreighton.com for more.
http://www.gocreighton.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1000&ATCLID=210111368
http://www.omaha.com/creighton/creighton-recruiting-class-is-named-th-in-country/article_9d929cde-4b56-5ba1-95df-dd4ddf67dcb3.html

The Baseball Jays had a good year at 30-17 in the regular season.  However, a late year swoon over the 8th-12th of May against ranked Nevada and Arkansas, effectively crushed hopes of an at-large NCAA bid.  The Big East is a 1 bid league this year and the Jays battled hard in the BET championship game, but fell to St Johns.  See http://www.gocreighton.com for more.

Also the OWH had an article recently on the international Slovenian Man of Mystery – Martin Krampelj (pronounced “Kramp lee”), along with a video:
http://www.omaha.com/creighton/creighton-freshman-martin-krampelj-offers-reach-and-range-if-not/article_fdaa82f8-b238-50b9-bf1e-2857843adc1e.html

Photo: Courtesy Omaha World Herald

Lastly.  Creighton Basketball travels to Italy in August.  Dates are the 4th – 14th of August.  No indication of teams to be played yet, but 4 games are slated.  The team lands in Milan, then on to Florence, and lastly Rome.  Should be an excellent tour and chance for the new guys to meld and gel with the returnees.   

Ciao.

2014-15: A Season to Remember…and Grow from.

On By @gtmoblueIn college basketball 365
Rip Van Winkle here…
 
Hello?  Anybody still there?  I had this strange nightmare…that the Jays had their worst January since 1995, that we lost 9 STRAIGHT games, that my Jays were the conference cellar-dwellers!  Wow, am I glad it was only a dream…wait.  Wait a minute…huh?  It’s Wasn’t a dream?  Oh Holy sh_t! 

It seems that the Jays nuclear winter is over. Wow, what a January.  The Jays have had January (even February) slumps before, but this one was a doozy.  What a ride, but glad to have it behind us.  Some blowouts, some close losses (close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes) – but losses none-the-less.  Team play has been up and down, inconsistent, and fan frustrating.  But the fanbase is still with the team and showing up in droves at the CLink.

February is looking up:  Jays have won a couple including Saturdays game over the Warrior/GEagles of Marquette.  Recent OWH article and video (Marquette) about this season…from T. Shatel no less.

I have been spouting Creighton Run on the WBR and BJB sites.  The most important aspect of the season to date is that the fellas on the team still have great team chemistry, are still fighting hard, and have not quit on themselves or each other.  My guys…Luv ’em. 

Five regular season tilts left – 3 at home and 2 roadies. 

Butler on Tuesday
@ DePaul
@ Seton Hall
Villanova
Xavier (Senior Day) 
All are winnable…we shall see.  Of course I am praying for a typical February Creighton Run and for the Jays to do their normal conference tourney run.  All is not lost.  This will be a memorable season either way, yep…no 25 W’s this year, but I am pulling for the Jays to end on high notes with a good run and the BET Tourney title.  Far fetched?  Perhaps.  But as I noted at both our boards and over on the Holyland of Hoops…stranger things have happened in college hoops. 
Injury Report: 

         Resultado de imagen para Leon Gilmore photos

Images Courtesy of Creighton Basketball


SG Isaiah Zierden injured his knee and is/will go to Wash, DC to get it fixed. 
PF Leon Gilmore also is hurt and we are awaiting more info on his status. 
But, there is good news also: 

The Jays filled their 4th and last 2015 scholie.  Local star and 2014 Nebraska HS POY Khyri Thomas (3*), currently at Virginia Military Prep School, verbally committed to the Jays last Thursday, 12 Feb 2015 and will sign in April.  Plenty of talk and links by the WBR, www.whiteandbluereview.com and BJB, www.creighton.rivals.com  http://whiteandbluereview.com/local-pro … turns-home
Courtesy Omaha Sports Academy (OSA)
The Jays 2015 class jumped up to #49 in the 247 team rankings and also to #5 in the Big East recruiting rankings.  The coaches continue beating the bushes for recruits.  The staff has been hard at work looking at both HS and Juco SGs and PGs over the last several weeks.  The Khyri Thomas verbal was a surprise this week, a very good surprise. 
Now that I have sufficiently recovered from shock and depression…I will resume a close following of the end of the regular season and the BET @ MSG.  It ain’t over, til its’ over. 
 
Creighton Baseball has begun and is off to a 2-0 lightning strike of a start.  Good luck moving forward into the season guys. 

Courtesy Creighton Athletics

Let’s go Blue.

gtmo